Electric connector systems including electronic connector systems are used to interconnect electric or electronic systems as well as electric or electronic components.
Generally, an electric connector system includes a projection-type connector member such as a conductor beam and a reception-type connector member such as a conductor socket. In such a type of electric interconnecting system, an electric interconnection is achieved by inserting the projection-type connector member into the reception-type connector member. Such an insertion brings the projection-type connector member and the reception-type connector member into contact with each other at their conducting areas, so that an electric signal may be transmitted through those connector members.
In a conventional interconnecting system, for example, in the pin grid array shown in FIG. 1 which will be further discussed below, a multitude of individual conductor pins 11 are arranged on a grid structure 12 and a multitude of individual conductor sockets (not shown in FIG. 1) are arranged to receive the individual pins 11.
Here, each pair of the above pin and socket transmits a different electric signal.
A high integrated electric interconnecting system may be characterized by a great number of interconnecting contacts within a small area. Naturally, a high integrated electric interconnecting system has shorter signal paths than a low integrated electric interconnecting system and thus occupies a smaller space.
The short signal path in a high integrated electric interconnecting system enables a speedy transmission of electric signal.
Generally, a high integration of an electric interconnecting system improves performance of the system.
A lot of attempts have been made so far to realize high integration of an electric interconnecting system.
An example of the electric interconnecting systems so proposed is illustrated in FIG. 2a. The electric interconnecting system illustrated in FIG. 2a is known as the column and box type electric interconnecting system.
In the system shown in FIG. 2a, the projection-type interconnecting member 21 is a conductor beam or conductor column and the reception-type interconnecting member 22 is a conductor socket with a box form.
FIG. 2b shows the plan view for FIG. 2a in which the column is received in the socket.
As shown in FIG. 2b, the socket 22 includes, on its inner walls, the sections 23 and 24 protruding inward for fixing the column within the socket.
Another form of electric interconnecting system, which was also proposed, is shown in FIG. 3a. The electric interconnecting system shown in FIG. 3a is known as a single beam interconnecting system. In the system shown in FIG. 3a, the above-mentioned projection-type interconnecting member is the conductor pin or column 31 and the reception-type interconnecting member is the conductor flexible beam 32.
FIG. 3b shows the plan view for FIG. 3a. The flexible or elastic beam 32 is bent toward the column 31 to maintain the contact with the column 31.
The third type of conventional electric interconnecting system as proposed is shown in FIG. 4a. The electric interconnecting system shown in FIG. 4a is known as an edge connector system.
The projection-type interconnecting member of the edge connector system is composed of an insulated printed circuit board 41 and conductor patterns 43 formed on the opposite sides of the printed circuit board. The reception-type interconnecting members of the edge connector system comprise a set of upper conductor fingers and a mating set of under conductor fingers 42 to grip the printed circuit board 41 between the upper and lower sets of fingers.
FIG. 4b shows an elevation view for FIG. 4a, in which the printed circuit board 41 is interposed between an upper and lower fingers 42. When the printed circuit board 41 is interposed between the above-mentioned conductor fingers 42, the respective conductor patterns 43 come in contact with the corresponding conductor fingers 42, whereby the electric signals can be transmitted through the conductor patterns 43 and the conductor fingers 42.
The fourth type of conventional electric interconnecting system as proposed is shown in FIG. 5. The electric interconnecting system shown in FIG. 5 is known as pin and socket interconnecting system.
In the system shown in FIG. 5, the above-mentioned projection-type interconnecting member is the conductible stamped pin 51 and the reception-type interconnecting member is the conductible slotted socket 52.
The socket 52 is typically mounted in a through hole formed on a printed circuit board. The pin 51 is larger in size in comparison to the slotted space formed inside the socket 52. Such a dimension of larger pin is intended to secure the pin 51 in the socket 52 tightly with the aid of elasticity.
The interconnecting systems shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 are all defective somehow on various grounds.
For example, the interconnecting members of those systems generally include metal platings on the outer surface and inner surface of the projection-type and reception-type member to ensure enough electric contact between the interacting members. Because such a metal plating is typically realized through gold or other expensive metals, the systems shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 can be manufactured only at a high cost.
The edge connector system of FIG. 4 has the drawback of its capacity and susceptibility to electromagnetic interference.
Similarly, the pin and socket system of FIG. 5 not only requires a big force to insert the pin into the slotted socket but also allows only small tolerance to thereby make adequate fixing difficult.
Major problems in connection with the systems shown in FIGS. 2 and 3(when they are arranged as in FIG. 1), the system shown in FIG. 4(when it is arranged in a row) and the system shown in FIG. 5(when it is arranged as in FIG. 4a), reside in that those systems are not proper for integration which is needed for the technology of future semiconductors and computers.
As an attempt to solve such a problem of integration, there was proposed a high integrated interconnecting system by U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,686.
The construction for this high integrated interconnecting system is shown in FIGS. 6a-6c. The high integrated interconnecting system of this patent includes a projection-type interconnecting member 61 and a reception-type interconnecting member 62.
The above-described projection-type interconnecting member 61 comprises an insulated substrate 63, conductor posts 65 and insulated buttresses 67 supporting the conductor posts. The conductor posts 65, which are arranged around a buttress 67, are engaged with the conductor beams 64 of the corresponding reception-type interconnecting member 62. Further, the foot sections 65A of the conductor posts 65 have a variety of forms depending on the types of interface devices(not shown) to be connected. The conductor posts 65 with the rectangular foot sections 65A as shown in FIG. 6a are well adapted for electric connection of the printed circuit boards positioned at a right angle.
In addition, the reception-type interconnecting member 62, which consists of an insulated substrate 66 and plural conductor beams 64 attached on the insulated substrate 66, receives the projection-type interconnecting member 61 for transmission of electric signals.
The conductor beams 64 of the reception-type interconnecting member 62 has a shape as seen in FIG. 6b. In particular, the conductor beam 64 largely consists of the contacting part 64A, the fixed part 64B and the foot part 64C.
The contacting part 64A consists of a guiding zone 64AA for guiding a conductor post 65 and an interface zone 64AB for forming electric contact with the conducting part of a conductor post, so that the conductor posts of the corresponding projection-type interconnecting member 61 may be received in the contacting parts 64A.
The fixing part 64B is a part at which the conductor beam 64 is fixed and supported on an insulated substrate 66.
The foot part 64C by which the conductor beam 64 is bound to an interface device has different shapes depending on the types of interface devices. In other words, the foot parts 64C shown in FIG. 6b may be applicable where two printed circuit boards are connected with other, while the arrangement shown in FIG. 6c illustrates foot parts 64C for the case that the conductor beams 64 of a reception-type member 62 are combined with wires or cables 68.
As described above, in the conventional high integration interconnecting system, each individual manufacture of reception-type interconnecting members 62 and projection-type interconnecting members 61 was needed according to the particular types of devices, for example, a semiconductor chip, a printed circuit board, a wire, a round cable, a flat flexible cable or the like, to which a projection-type interconnecting member 61 and a reception-type interconnecting member 62 are connected. Therefore, a problem was caused in that the manufacture was difficult and the manufacturing cost was conventional.
In other words, one disadvantage of that configuration is the reception-type interconnecting member and the projection-type interconnecting member had to be manufactured variedly, depending on whether a board is connected to a board, whether a board is connected to a wire or whether a cable is connected to a cable, in an electric interconnecting system.